Improvement in knitting-machines



2 Sheets--Sheet1.

E. P. CURTISS. Knitting-Machines.

Patented Apri|,28,1874.

Wi mess es.

I ,11 venol.

2 Sheets--Shee 2.

Wizzass es i In v elzazn UNITED fr-Ares EDWARD I. CURTISS, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR OF ONEHALE HIS y A'rEN'r OFFICE.

EIGHT TO THEODOEE C. EOOTE, OF SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT IN KNlTTlNG-MACHINES.

Specication forming part of Letters Patent No. l 50,2598, dated April 28, 1874; application led April l5, 1874.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known th at I, E. I). CURTISS, of Cleveland, county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented a Knitting-Machine, of which the following is a specification:

The nature of this invention consists in certain improvements in knitting-machines, as hereinafter described and claimed..

To enable others to fully understand my invention, I will proceed to describe the same in detail by the aid of the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l, Sheet l, is a top or plan view. Fig. '2, Sheet 2, is a side elevation with feedwheel shown in outline. Fig. 3, Sheet 2, is a front elevation. Fig. 4, Sheet 2, is a detached view of a device for knitting ribbed work.

Like letters indicate like parts in the several drawings.

A is the base of the machine, to which is attached the clamp-neck B, by which the machine is secured to a table or support. To the neck B is cast the box C for the main shaft D, from which shaft all the working parts derive their motion. On the shaft D, near the middle of thebase, is attached a cam-wheel, E, for working the needle-bar. The shaft D extends through from one side of the machine to the other, having' on one end the crank or driving wheel D1, and on the opposite end two eccentrics, D3, for operating the feed mechanism. D2 is a feed-wheel, turning on a pin fixed in the end of the box above the shaft D, and meshes with the crown-gear of the needle-disk F. The feed mechanism is operated by means of pawls ff, attached to pawl-arms G Gr, which are pivoted on the same pin with the feedwheel D2, the lower portion of the pawl-arms being made in the form of yokes, and operated by the eccentrics D3 on the shaft D. For reversing the feed motion, the said pawls are tripped alternately by a rocker-arm, h, ou a rock-shaft, 71.1. The said rock-shaft has its bearing through the upper part of a T post, and has attached to it a fork, fi, by which it is oscillated for the purpose of tripping the pawls, said oscillating motion being obtained through a sliding lever, j, operated by one of the pawlarms G, the said sliding lever j having shoulders, one on the upper and one on the lower side, which, alternately coming in contact with a piu on the oscillating-lever j2, oscillates the rock-shaft h. The said sliding lever j is lifted or dropped by a bent arm, K, attached to the upright oscillating shaft K1 passing through the base A to the under side of the machine, where it has an arm, K2, attached. A center stud, L, on the under side of the base A, supports a gear-wheel, L1, carried by a bent arm, L2, attached to the said wheel and needle-disk F. On the stud L are two arms, L3, carrying pinions l l, meshing with the said gear-wheel Ll, and retained in. position by spring-pawls l l, except when changed by the Operator: At the ends of the arms L3 are pins L4, which, as the needle-disk rotates, come in Contact with the arm K2, causing the shaft Kl to oscillate, thus swinging the bent arm K in front of or away from the sliding lever j, by means of which the latter is either lifted or dropped. Attached to the rocker-shaft h1 is an arm, h2, connected by a rod, h3, to a sliding rod, m, carrying a rack, m2, for reversing the yarn-carrier N. The oscillation of the rock-shaft also operates, by means of spring-pawls x x, a dial for indicating the number of rows knitted. O is a vibrating arm, pivoted at 0 to the box C, and to the front end of which is attached the rotating yarn-carrier N, a tension-spring, n', held by a nut, u, and a guide-loop for the yarn. The vibration of the arm O is caused by the vibrations of a jointed lever, P, pivoted to a post, p', secured to the base A, said lever being operated by a cam, g, on the shaft D. R is a stitch-retainer and cast-off attached to the vibrating-arm O, for the purpose of retaining the stitch upon the stripper until the needle and new stitch have passed through the loop, and then casting it off, which causes the old loop to draw to one side, allowing the needle to comeback to its position without interfering V with the old loop. On the shaft D is a wormscrew, S, operating a gear-wheel, S1, which carries a cam, S2, by means of which a tilting lever, T, pivoted to a post on the box C, is operated, the object of which is to change the movement of the needle-disk for knitting various patterns of fabric. For instance, when one point of the cam strikes the tilting-lever T, the opposite end lifts the sliding lever j,

causing the needle-disk to reverse and knit one stitch back. Then the cam, releasing the lever, allows the opposite end to drop down again, and drops the sliding lever back to its original position, whereby the needle-disk is again reversed, and allows the machine to knit forward two stitches, when the operation is repeated, producing a twilled knit fabric.

By the employment of different-shaped cams a great variety of knitted fabrics may be produced.

By removing the tilting leverT and placing in its stead a tripping device, U, as seen in Fig. 4, a variety of ribbed work can be produced.

The cam S3 throws out an arm on the tripping device U, which trips a pawl on the jointed lever P, causing the vibrating arm O to remain up until the needle has passed in bythe yarn-carrier, whereby said needle does not take the yarn, but in its outward movement the cam having retained the pawl, the vibrating arm O drops down, allowing the needle-to pass over the yarn, then the machine knits two stitches when another point of the cam strikes the tripping device, and the operation is repeated.

By employing different-shaped cams for operatin g the tripper, different varieties of ribbed work may be made, and by the combined operation of both the tripping device and the tilting-lever T, a variety of fancy stitches may be made.

Having described my invention, I claiml. The eccentrics D3, pawl-arms G G, pawls f f, rocker-arm h, fork t', sliding lever j, and oscillating lever jz, in` combination with the feed-wheel D2 for operating the needle-disk, as and for the purpose specified.

2. The combination and arrangement of the bent arm K, oscillating shaft K1, having an arm, K2, the arms L3, pinions l l and L1, and pins L, and connected by the arm L2 to the needle disk for governing the number of stitches to be knit, substantially as described.

3. The vibrating arm O, yarn-carrier N, the sliding rod m, and rack m2, pitman 11.3, arm h2, the rock-shaft h1, the jointed lever P, and cam g, all combined and arranged for operating substantially as specified.

4. The stitch-retainer and cast-off R, for the purpose specified.

5. The combination of the worm-screw S, gear S1, cam S2, tilting lever T, sliding leverj, and reversing devices for producing fancy stitches, as specified.

6. The combination of the worm-screw S, gear S1, cam S2, tripping device U, and jointed lever P, with the vibrating arm O and yarncarrier for prodncin g ribbed work, as speciiied.

EDVARD P. CURTISS.

lVitnesses:

J. C. WAGNER, WM. WAGNER. 

